Visitors to Fort Ticonderoga overlooking Lake Champlain can expand their historic experience by sailing the waters between New York and Vermont. WAMC South Adirondack Office Chief Lucas Willard recently boarded.
“So we just boarded from the Ticonderoga Peninsula, over there in New York. Of course, over here, it’s Vermont…”
On a calm day on Lake Champlain, Fort Ticonderoga interpreter Ethan Knick talks to a dozen guests aboard a wooden boat.
Each year, the Fort Ticonderoga Association shapes programming around a year based on the history of the Fort.
In an important structure of both the French and Indian War and the American Revolution, this year’s programming focuses on 1759.
Four years after the construction of Fort Carillon by the French, the English forced their retreat and renamed the strategic fort Ticonderoga.
Knick is dressed for this historic era.
“So, at the moment, I am wearing the uniform of the Troupe de Terre Française. It was regular infantry sent from France from 1755 who formed the bulk of the various French armies here at Ticonderoga. In particular, I wear the uniform of a soldier of the Régiment de la Rein, the Régiment de la Reine. They had these nice blue vests and the bright red facings and the silver buttons that you see on my uniform,” Knick said.
Today’s 75-minute tour offers views and stories about the fort, landmarks along the New York and Vermont shores and, with the help of sonar equipment, underwater relics .
“Not only do you get the perspective of the very waterways that this fort defended, but it allows you to zoom out and look at all of Ticonderoga’s history,” Knick said.
Beth Hill, president and CEO of Fort Ticonderoga, said the boat tours offer a unique experience.
“You know, we’re here between all these lakes in this area and there’s very little opportunity for people to get out on the water, so the combination of natural beauty and epic history with the boat trips boat stories is such a win, and our visitors love it,” said Hill.
In addition to daytime tours, in July and August guests can book a 90-minute sunset cruise aboard that same boat, the 1920s-style “Carillon.” This year, the Fort is partnering to AirBnB to promote evening boat tours.
Hill says 30,000 visitors have taken a ride on Lake Champlain since the program began in 2015, and it’s been a success — with the exception of summer 2020.
“The first year of the pandemic, the locks were closed on Lake Champlain. So we weren’t able to get the boat back from its winter quarters in Albany to the north on Lake Champlain. He returned last year and the Carillon boat is one of our most popular features here at Fort Ticonderoga. In fact, our polls show that people who take the boat ride enjoy everything more,” Hill said.
“I thought it was very cool. It was very interesting to see the Fort from afar. Just the lake in general is very beautiful.
Andrew Wright from North Carolina is here with five of his siblings. His family is stopping in Ticonderoga as part of a Northeast multi-state history tour.
“We hit the highlights. About a two week tour. We started in Washington DC and saw some of the sights there. We’ve been to Philadelphia, then New York, Boston, Maine, and we’ll wrap up today with Fort Ticonderoga today and Niagara Falls tomorrow,” Jay Wright said.
Andrew’s parents, Jay and Janet, also enjoyed the boat tour.
“I thought that was great, exactly what we had in mind. Just a great afternoon out on the lake with the family,” said Jay Wright.
“And our guide was so knowledgeable. I think that has been a real benefit for our children. We homeschool our children. So it was a great learning experience for them,” said Janet Wright.
Visitors to Fort Ticonderoga this summer will also see the newly renovated 1826 lodge.
The $9 million restoration of the Pavilion Hotel, a white Greek revival, is part of a series of more than $70 million planned renovations to the fort.
With 75,000 visitors a year, officials say Fort Ticonderoga has an annual economic impact of $12 million on the region.
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